Quantum geometric contribution to the diffusion constant

TL;DR

This paper explores how quantum geometry uniquely influences the diffusion constant and conductivity in Dirac materials, revealing a dimension-dependent quantum geometric dominance at charge neutrality.

Contribution

It establishes a rigorous separation of quantum geometric effects from band velocity contributions and shows their dominance in 3D Dirac fermions at neutrality.

Findings

Quantum geometric effects are separable from band velocity in Dirac systems.

In 3D Dirac fermions, diffusion is entirely quantum geometric at neutrality.

In 2D Dirac systems, band velocity contributions do not cancel out.

Abstract

We discuss the quantum geometric contribution to the diffusion constant and the DC conductivity in metals and semimetals with linear Dirac dispersion. We demonstrate that, for systems with perfectly linear dispersion, there exists a clear and rigorous separation of the quantum geometric from the ordinary band velocity contributions to the diffusion constant, which turns out to be directly related to the separation of a rank two tensor into transverse and longitudinal parts. We also demonstrate that, within the self-consistent Born approximation and for Gaussian-distributed disorder, the diffusion constant of three-dimensional Dirac fermions at charge neutrality is entirely quantum geometric in origin, which is not the case for two-dimensional Dirac fermions. This is the result of an accidental perfect cancellation of the band velocity contribution in three dimensions.